Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the USA, and for all of you folks outside the US who may not have experienced a traditional American Thanksgiving, it is quite the calorie-fest.
We gather together to ingest copious amounts of turkey, gravy, stuffing, honey baked ham, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, baked potatoes, basically lots of potatoes, our aunts’ amazing casseroles, something green that we pretend is healthy, rolls, cornbread, butter, and honey. Oh, and that’s before we get to dessert, where there’s pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie, whipped cream, ice cream, and a nap from pancreatic shock.
And if that’s not enough, some enterprising folks have recently decided that the Thanksgiving feast wasn’t insane enough, and came up with inventions such as deep fried turkeys and a turducken, which is a turkey stuffed with a chicken stuffed with a duck. And yes, there are even deep fried turduckens.
And on top of all that, there are Thanksgiving-specific regional and ethnic traditions that means everyone has their own unique Thanksgiving meal.
It is America, and it is awesome.
So. For those of you who have been fortunate enough to participate in this feast, what is your favorite dish? Which one keeps you salivating all morning long at the mere thought of eating it?
For me personally, I have been, and always will be, a pumpkin pie man. Can’t get enough of the pumpkin pie.
What about you?
Sarah Nicolas says
deviled eggs!! my mom hides them from me until dinner
Denise K. Rago says
It's got to be stuffing. As a child I remember my dad making his homemade stuffing every Thanksgiving. The fond memory has stuck with me.
sue laybourn says
My home made sage and onion stuffing.
Am conducting an informal poll via Twitter and Facebook on that horror known as sweet potato casserole.
Side dish? Dessert? or Abomination?
M.A.Leslie says
Sweet potato casserole. Oh the sugar shock.
And don't forget watching football, the kind with pads.
Jeannette Towey says
Pumpkin pie for me too and I'm a Brit who's never been in the US for Thanksgiving. But I do make pumpkin pie at Hallowe'en every year – it's all gone by Thanksgiving mind you.
Phil says
We're not American, so we take the opportunity to bake up a huge Portuguese dish of baccalhau a bras. Which is basically cod, friend onions, olives, sliced potato and chopped boiled eggs spread on top. Delicious!
joannehuspek says
My pumpkin pie is to die for~ made with pie pumpkins, none of that canned stuff. It's so rich and yummy… Of course, I'll eat everything else too.
Terry Odell says
We were always a small family gathering. I found a recipe for pumpkin apple pie to keep everyone happy without having to bake 2 pies. Also, we love a curried fruit stuffing instead of the usual.
Terry
Terry's Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
deprey says
Stuffing.Bread with gizzards.Wow!
vnrieker says
I used to love stuffing, mashed potatoes-from-real-potatoes-with-the-skins-and-all, and pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream. Mmmm…
Sadly, I can no longer eat sugar, lactose, gluten, starches, or anything fermented. So I'll be having some raw broccoli and a dry piece of turkey. Boo.
Mira says
Turdukens? No, that can't be real. You're putting us on, Nathan. That's just mind-boggling, much less deep frying it.
My fav, pumpkin pie, too! Yummy. Closely followed by anything potato. Yum, yum, yum. And the left-overs – that's the best part.
Danielle La Paglia says
John Wayne Casserole – 1 pound of cheddar, 1 pound of monterrey jack, 6 eggs, green chiles, bake for an hour. Yes, it will clog your arteries beyond repair, but it's freakin awesome. 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving!
elleonthego says
I'm British but I was lucky to experience Thanksgiving in California, a memorable experience. I was "set upon" bc of my "cute British" accent, lol so didn't get to eat much in between all the questions but I remember the delicious pecan pie, loved it and a chocolate meringue type thingy. Happy thanksgiving!
Sierra McConnell says
Pizza.
Allow me to explain.
After driving an hour and a half to my sister's house, waiting all day for the turkey, only to see that they hadn't thawed it properly and to watch as they stuck the meat thermometer inside and a wellspring of blood gush out into the kitchen, and then to drive an hour and a half back home, that pizza was the most delicious pizza ever.
So yes. Pizza is my favorite Thanksgiving meal, for it will always remind me of my sister's first Thanksgiving.
RubyRed0 says
Kentucky Derby pie & peanut butter choc chip cheesecake. 😉
Natalie Whipple says
My husband converted me to pumpkin pie, but I also love what my family calls The Salad.
It's got bacon, craisins, almonds, parmesan, green onions, and this raspberry poppy seed vinaigrette. Basically, it's not a healthy salad, it's just THE SALAD.
Raejean says
For our family its all about the rolls and the Chocolate Mousse Praline Pecan Pie. Chocolate and praline pecans – the perfect combination!
David says
I need a nap to recover from that post!
Joseph L. Selby says
Things got serious between me and my now-wife when I told her I loved her more than pumpkin pie. It took awhile before we got to that point, but eventually it happened.
abc says
Pumpkin pie is pretty awesome. I like it cold with whipped cream on top. If no one was around to scold me, I'd eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner. It is a vegetable, is it not?
But my fave Thanksgiving dish has always been and forever shall be the sweet potatoes–baked with butter and brown sugar and crispy marshmallows on top. Classic.
Josin L. McQuein says
I detest pie, which is why it's strange that my favorite is desert that calls itself pie. (It's NOT pie, so there)
Butternut Brownie pie is basically graham cracker pie shell full of pecans and graham crackers baked in with sweet syrup to bind it together. Then you put whipped cream on top. No squishy filling like most pie, nice and crunchy.
Rick Daley says
I like the crispy skin off the breast of the turkey. My second favorite is the turkey leg, cold out of the fridge the next day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tim Riley says
My mom's stuffing is the highlight of Thanksgiving. she makes so much, I'll be eating stuffing til Sunday. The very thought of it makes me happy.
Tchann says
Thornton-style green bean casserole. I've never seen its like anywhere but our family table, which means I won't see it tomorrow at my husband's relatives' house. 🙁 But I'm having a small friends-and-family dinner on Sunday, and I'll be damned if that dish isn't on the table!
Stephanie McGee says
I love warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream.
And my mom's rolls.
We celebrated Thanksgiving as a family last weekend. It was the only time I could get away, between school and working retail, so we had to do it early. This year we bought a smoked turkey breast and baked yams that we then just sprinkled with brown sugar to eat.
It was delicious. But I did miss the dressing.
Emily White says
Pumpkin pie. It's just not Thanksgiving without it!
Susan Antony says
My dressing made with Italian Bread,garlic, apples, re-hydrated dried fruits and shiitake mushrooms.
Joanne Sher says
Candied yams. But I'm TOTALLY in the minority in my family that way. not always there 🙁
Summer says
Stuffing!! And the brandied cranberries…:)
Not a pumpkin pie lover here, but I can put a hurting on chess or pecan pie.
Kaitlyne says
Honestly? I'm not a fan of traditional Thanksgiving food. I generally dreaded it when I was younger as a result. I'd be forced to eat turkey and cranberry sauce and stuffing to be polite. And then we'd have leftovers and be expected to eat it for a week. 😛
Needless to say, I've not actually ever cooked a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I'd prefer steak and potato salad as a nice rare treat.
Cookie says
Cranberry sauce. I will eat the entire can if left to my own devices. Love that stuff.
The stuffing takes a close second. I eat it drenched in copious amounts of gravy and pepper. Mmmm…
Bryan Russell (Ink) says
I am one of the world's great natural predators of pumpkin pie.
I believe I shall celebrate Thanksgiving again, in honour of all my American friends. Yes, I am just that good of a friend. Pass the pie.
Lovelyn says
I love the leftover turkey the next day. Something about leftover turkey makes it taste great when you eat it right out of the fridge.
Stephanie Garber says
Pumpkin pie used to be my favorite too, but recently it switched to green bean casserole. But not just any green bean casserole. Two years ago my family started making it from scratch, cooking the mushrooms ourselves rather than using Campbell's soup, and it is the most delicious thing ever!
I even read a blog yesterday that is normally dedicated to books, where the blog's author urged everyone to do themselves a favor and make their green bean casserole without canned soup. So now I'm spreading the word as well. It really is the best!
Jay says
The "corn goo" as we like to call it. It's kind of a corn bread pudding and once we put that on the menu, everyone forgot that there was such a thing as stuffing.
Huntress says
My favorite dish is the:
Turkeystuffingnoodlespecanpumpkinpiecranberriesmashedpotatoeshoneyhamfreshhotrolls.
But then, doesn't everyone?
Chris Phillips says
deviled eggs by far.
Silicon Valley Diva says
I want to say Turkey, but how can I eat it without being drenched in my mother's homemade gravy? And what's turkey without mashed potatoes & stuffing?
Just one dish? Impossible 🙂
Norma Beishir says
My mother's stuffing was always my favorite, but I haven't had that in eleven years, so I'll have to say pie. Almost any kind of pie. And potatoes. I could live on potatoes.
And I'm not even Irish….
katieleigh says
Sweet potato "casserole," which is basically a dessert, it has so much sugar and butter. Topped with pecans and brown sugar. And in my oven RIGHT NOW.
Fenris says
I'd have to say the cranberry sauce, or perhaps the pecan pie. I like pumpkin pie as well, but pecan pie takes the cake here. No pun intended.
The sweet potato souffle my mother makes is wonderful as well, but she doesn't make it every year, so it didn't quite make the top rank.
Diane T says
At my family's Thanksgiving, it's all about the pie. Sure, we devour a 20+ pound turkey on Thursday and another on Friday, and it's not the same without stuffing, potatoes, and gravy, and my uncle makes homemade rolls to die for. But the pie … each year we have something called "the pie count" which shows how many pies my mother has made, and how many we have consumed. Last year's count was 37: 10-12 each of apple and pumpkin, 4 blueberry, and couple each of peach, cherry, mixed berry, pecan, blackberry, raspberry apple, etc etc etc.
Pie is not a Thanksgiving dish in our family. It is a religion.
Theresa Milstein says
I'm a starchy girl. Stuffing, especially if it has mushroom and breakfast sausages in it.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Cheryl says
Mmmmmm! Green bean casserole made with fresh green beans and mushroom soup made from SCRATCH! You'll not find a can of campbell's in this house on Turkey Day.
Munk Davis says
Rum
Matthew Rush says
This is going to sound gross to most, but my stepmom (my kids call her gramma Lynn) makes this awesome pearl onion dish with a cream sauce and crispy onions on top.
I can't cook stuff like that but boy is it good.
Anonymous says
WE have thanksgiving in Canada too. The only real difference is it's in October. Other than that, it's pretty much the same.
I always look forward to the turkey, cranberries, and stuffing. The only time we have it is at thanksgiving and Christmas, so it's a treat worth waiting all year for. In fact, it's not thanksgiving or Christmas dinner without it.
Laura Maylene says
It's a tie between stuffing and pumpkin pie. Asking me to choose between those two is like asking me to choose between my kids. And I don't have kids. So it's like the pie and stuffing are my kids. Back off!
Carol Riggs says
Amen to the pumpkin pie! but also, my mom's homemade stuffing, without any of that nasty Stovetop Stuff added to it. 🙂
Brooke Johnson says
sweet potatoes. hands down.